


Fun

by Aishuu



Series: Hooked [3]
Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Romance, Sweet, The Livejournal exodus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-29
Updated: 2014-06-29
Packaged: 2018-02-06 15:44:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1863372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aishuu/pseuds/Aishuu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone knows Fuji's sense of humor can be questionable. Fuji celebrates Tezuka's birthday by messing with his head.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fun

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shi Lin](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Shi+Lin).



> This is the only one of the 2003 series which isn't a timed challenge response. This was written in response to a challenge from Shi Lin and posted to celebrate Tezuka's birthday.  
> Shi Lin's challenge: "Fuji drives Tezuka nuts because he thinks it's FUN."

It began with Swedish Fish, strung together on fishing line.

There were hundreds of the small candies, all pierced by a fishing hook, and strung up over the door of Tezuka’s classroom. The strange decoration made many people pause, wonder what the heck it meant, but Tezuka felt a deep sense of foreboding well inside.

It was weird, it was strange, and it had the markings of Fuji’s particular sense of humor. As Tezuka ducked under the line (which was placed JUST low enough to brush his hair), he knew that today was going to be One of Those Days.

The students in his class were talking about it when he entered. Tezuka tended to arrive just shy of being late in the mornings, due to the responsibilities that came with being captain of the tennis team. No one bothered to include him in their discussion, which was the way things usually worked. He knew they were all intimidating by him, and tended to think of him as an authority figure.

Sometimes it was a bit lonely. Still, he could listen.

“I think it’s some kind of threat against someone — it’s so violent!” Masumi Haruko said, shuddering.

Tatsuki Yuki disagreed, tossing her brown hair as she spoke seriously. “I think it’s a joke. A bit weird, but I’m sure someone in here would understand what it meant.”

“Can you imagine how long it took to string those together?” asked a girl whose name Tezuka had never bothered to learn. “I mean, someone had a lot of time of their hands...”

Tezuka almost snorted as he dug through his school bag for a pen. Fuji had probably been working on it for weeks, since he had amazingly little free time. But knowing Fuji, he would consider the puzzled reactions worth the time.

“Tezuka-san?” a girl said quietly from behind him.

He turned around, surprised that Suzuki Akemi was addressing him. Her blushing face was determined, but her gaze remained downward and her hands demurely behind her back. She was the shyest girl in class, unable to look anyone directly in the face. “Yes, Suzuki-san?” he said.

“Today’s your birthday, right? Did one of your friends string those fish up?”

All the conversations screeched to a halt as people turned to stare at him. Some of the expressions were puzzled, and a few looked like they couldn’t believe that someone would do something like that to Tezuka Kunimitsu, who allegedly had no sense of humor.

Tezuka hated being the center of attention when he hadn’t earned it. Being put on the spot wasn’t at all to his liking. “Today’s my birthday, but I can’t think of one of my friends who would do that,” he said shortly, hoping that would be the end of it. He could actually think of several people who would do something that weird, but Fuji was the only one who knew it was his birthday. He was paranoid about what would happen. Birthdays, to him, seemed like a chance for other people to torment the supposed “celebrant.”

“I... I have something for you,” she said shyly, taking her hands out from behind her back.

He stared as she handed him a green-wrapped package. “Happy birthday,” she said.

Now he was caught in a dilemma. It was his standard policy to refuse any and all gifts since he didn’t want to encourage anyone (considering Fuji’s personality he knew that was safer for everyone involved), but it would be rude to refuse one meant for his birthday. And Suzuki was notoriously shy — he realized how much courage it had taken for her to approach him.

“Thank you,” he said, taking the package and offering her a slight smile.

As if he acceptance was a signal, bags began to rustle and girls began to move towards him, each carrying their own gift for him. He stared as girl after girl offered her best wishes to him, and before he knew it, he had a pile of presents that covered his entire desk.

“How did you know it was my birthday?” he asked as he studied the offerings with a bit of trepidation.

“Someone dropped flyers in our shoe boxes last night,” one of the girls said. “Here’s my copy.”

Tezuka took it, and realized that the fish were just the beginning of what was going to be one of the longest days of his life.

***

At lunch, it was tennis balls that were the next “surprise.”

Tezuka knew he had to keep his calm, unperturbed face in tact or else let Fuji have the satisfaction of winning since he was sure Fuji was watching from SOMEWHERE hidden, but when he went to the club room and found every available floor space covered with pink tennis balls, his eyebrow twitched.

“Tezuka, I was wondering if —” he heard Oishi say from behind him, only to stop when he saw what was prevented his friend and captain from going in. “Oh... my....”

Tezuka had to admire Fuji’s style grudgingly. The tensai would have had to time it perfectly — Oishi locked the club room after morning practice, and Tezuka would be the one who opened it at lunch for those who wanted to practice during their free time. Ryuuzaki-sensei made a check of it around 10 a.m., which gave Fuji only around an hour in which to act...

And he had. PINK tennis balls? Where the hell had Fuji managed to get hold of so many of the stupid things? Tennis balls were supposed to be yellow, Tezuka thought.

“Tezuka...” Oishi said. “What’s going on?”

“It’s October 7," he said quietly.

“Fuji found out,” Oishi realized immediately. He knew Tezuka didn’t like broadcasting his birthday, and now that Fuji knew, today had just gotten very interesting. “Are you going to make him clean it up?”

“No proof. Only you, Ryuuzaki-sensei and myself have keys.”

“He probably had a copy of one of ours made when we weren’t looking.”

Tezuka stared at the balls, realizing Oishi was being diplomatic. Fuji has swiped HIS key, not Oishi’s. “Hmm.”

“What are we going to do?” Oishi said. He stared at the hundreds of balls that were neatly lined up on the floor.

“There’s a reason we let first years join...”

“Tezuka, you’re cruel.”

“No, I’m practical. Fuji’s cruel. See about rounding up some of them, will you?”

Oishi chuckled. “You’re a hard taskmaster.”

Tezuka didn’t say anything, turning to shut the door to keep anyone from entering until it could be cleaned. Unfortunately, the first years Oishi found included Horio. Tezuka watched as five freshmen lined up in front of him, looking like they were in front of a firing squad.

Horio stared at him with wide, awe-filled eyes, as usual, and listened to the instructions to find empty crates and clean up the club room. They exchanged confused glances until Tezuka opened the door to let them in, and then Horio started to fume.

“Who would insult the Seigaku tennis club like this?” he wanted to know. “Did a rival school break in?”

Tezuka felt the minor headache which had been building since the fish incident grow. “Quiet, and clean,” he said sternly.

“Yes, buchou!” Horio stammered, but bent down grumbling about the insult to the glorious Seigaku club and how it was all a plot.

It was a plot, Tezuka knew, but not that kind. Bringing in the freshmen to clean it up had been a mistake. Now he would have to deal with keeping Horio in line. Horio wasn’t one of his favorites. He was complacent about what skills he had, and too cocky without having the ability to back it up. And his voice was grating...

So when he heard Horio pipe up again, he knew that things had just gone from bad to worse. “Eh? What’s this?”

“What, Horio-kun?” another freshman asked.

“This... there’s writing on the balls...” Sure enough, someone had taking a black marker and written on the ball Horio was holding. “This one, too...” Horio added, rolling another ball over.

“All of them...” Katsuo said. “But... whoever put them in here, made sure the side they were all written on was place DOWN...” he said, sounding awed as he realized the time the prank had taken to implement. “I can’t read it...”

“Let me!” Horio said imperiously, grabbing the ball Katsuo was holding, ignoring the fact he already had one in his own hand. “I... I... It’s not in Japanese!”

Tezuka could have told him THAT. Even from here, he could see that it was in German... which very few people read on campus could read. Tezuka had since a young age had private tutors in a variety of languages, one of which was German.

Staring at the ball, he read what it said, feeling a bit stung.

Ten laps.

I’ll make him do one hundred when I catch up to him, Tezuka thought vengefully.

*****

Catching up to Fuji wasn’t going to be easy, Tezuka knew, and he was right.

When he arrived to change for club, Kikumaru hesitantly told him that Fuji had left class early and wouldn’t be attending.

Tezuka just Looked at him, juggling the pile of presents which had grown throughout the day. Girls (and a few boys) had spent the day cornering him, offering their best wishes, and tokens of their esteem. One or two had tried to kiss him, but he had gracefully sidestepped that.

Kikumaru seemed disturbed by Tezuka’s expression and muttered something about having to go warm up. He darted out of the club room quickly, disappearing like he had gained the ability to teleport.

“Don’t take your annoyance with Fuji out on everyone else,” Oishi chided him.

Tezuka didn’t say anything, but went over to set down the bags. “I’ve spent the day having people I hardly know come up to me and hand me presents,” he practically growled.

“It’s thoughtful of them,” Oishi said.

Tezuka couldn’t express how the obligation that came with gifts made him feel over the whole situation. “Some of them have been grabbing me from behind with no warning. I don’t like being surprised.”

That was putting the situation mildly. Tezuka would admit — very privately — to being something of a control freak. It made dating Fuji, who delighted in turning the tables on the confident, a harrowing experiencing. He never knew what to expect next, and while he admitted it was probably good for him, he found it annoying as hell when Fuji’s sense of humor acted up.

“Still...” Oishi began, apparently trying to defuse Tezuka’s temper, but Tezuka uncharacteristically interrupted him.

“The next person who tries to surprise me in any way, shape or form is going to run twenty laps,” Tezuka said stiffly. He began to lace his sneakers, forcing himself to take deep, even breaths. He was on edge.

Oishi looked a bit nervous at that. “What if they aren’t in tennis club?” he asked reasonably enough.

Tezuka’s eyes had narrowed dangerously. “That’s not going to matter.” He had visions of making the fan girls run twenty laps, and imagined that would quickly decrease their proclaimed devotion to him.

Tezuka finished dressing, feeling exceptionally irritable. He knew it was cheap to threaten laps every time he was pushed into a corner, but he had found it an amazingly effective method of control.

When he got hold of Fuji...

Oishi walked with him to the court, not saying much. Usually the captain and his second would use any time they had alone to discuss the team, but Oishi seemed to understand Tezuka’s mood and was quiet.

When Tezuka rounded the corner to the tennis courts, he stopped dead in his tracks. Instead of nets, crepe-paper had been strung between the poles on the court. Balloons were strung from the referee and coaches’ chairs, and he saw someone had set out a table containing a cake.

“What is this?” he asked calmly in a voice that was too level.

Echizen, who was standing on the side of the court, looking a bit sulky about the whole affair, stiffened a bit. A smirk came to his lips as he apparently realized what kind of disaster was impending.

Momoshiro didn’t recognize the captain’s mood, because he gave a big grin and a wave. “Happy birthday, buchou!”

Tezuka stared at the party they had arranged for him. And stared.... and could think of only one thing to say.

“Twenty laps!”

The entire team stopped smiling. The scratching of Inui’s pencil was the only sound heard, along with his mumbling something about the subject not liking surprise parties.

“Tezuka...” Oishi said, placing a placating hand on his shoulder. “The team wants to show its appreciation for you...”

Tezuka stared at the disappointed faces and felt guilty. “This is against regulations...”

“It’s fine,” said a female voice from behind him. “I agreed.”

Twisting his head, Tezuka saw Ryuuzaki Sumire smirking at him, and felt like a mouse being played with by a cat. “We should be —”

“If we don’t relax sometimes, Tezuka, we forget the important things in life. Take it in the spirit it’s meant,” Ryuuzaki said. “Besides, I baked the cake myself.”

That was the deciding factor. Ryuuzaki Sumire’s cakes were the stuff of legend, and only an idiot would turn one down. He smiled and everyone saw him relax with relief, not knowing he was plotting the untimely death of their second singles player as he accepted the gift Kikumaru appeared with.

Fuji, of course, had wisely skipped practice.

Well, Tezuka was patient.

***

Oishi, Kawamura and Kikumaru walked home with him, mainly to carry the three bags of gifts he had accrued through the day. He had received tennis balls, school supplies, sweets, sweatbands, shoelaces, grip tape... all sorts of small and practical things that suited him well. A few of the gifts were a bit odder, like the stuffed cat Momoshiro had bought, but all in all, it had been a satisfying day.

If he discounted the fact that he didn’t LIKE people making a fuss over his birthday.

“Sheesh, these are heavy!” Kikumaru said as they finally came in sight of his house. “I bet you didn’t realize you were so popular, buchou.”

“Hmm,” Tezuka murmured, not dignifying Kikumaru’s chat with an answer.

“Tezuka, this weekend, the regulars want to hold a small celebration at my restaurant,” Kawamura said hesitantly.

Tezuka wasn’t that surprised by the offer. It seemed they were always going to Kawamura’s for sushi on special occasions. “Thank you,” he said politely. “After practice on Saturday, just the regulars.”

Oishi gave him a gentle smile, and he knew he had accepted this party more gracefully than the first.

They helped Tezuka to his house, but then Tezuka took the bags, juggling them a bit to get a hold of them all. It had been a long day, and it was even longer when his mother noticed all the packages he had received. Her eyes lit up with delight as she realized exactly how popular her son was, and she began to ask pointed questions about the girls who has approached him.

He answered her stiffly, not wanting to think of how she would react if she found out his tastes didn’t swing that way.

It was two hours later when he finally managed to trip upstairs to his room. He didn’t have much homework, thankfully, and decided he’d get up in the morning to do it. He had tennis practice before school as well, but Tezuka decided the most important thing was getting some sleep.

Making himself comfortable under the covers, he wondered if Fuji’s gift really had been those pink tennis balls. They hadn’t been dating that long, after all.

He wouldn’t admit to feeling disappointed. Tezuka knew that Fuji’s rather weird amusements had taken their toll, and he secretly dreaded what ELSE Fuji would throw at him in the future. Fuji’s weird sense of humor was exceptionally dangerous for those nearest and dearest to him, as he demonstrated whenever he saw his younger brother.

Tezuka had always managed to avoid most of it, but now that they were dating, it was enough to give him serious pause. He knew Fuji cared for him, but he also enjoyed watching people squirm. Tezuka knew that the longer they were together, the more Fuji would push him.

Dating a sadist was not for the faint of heart.

Still, Fuji’s smile and thoughtfulness was something he relied on - and even that same sense of humor. It balanced Tezuka’s more serious, dogmatic nature, and kept him from falling into a rut. Tezuka couldn’t imagine the world without Fuji’s presence by his side.

Fuji understood him as few did.

Tezuka heard the rustle of wind, and wondered why he had forgotten to shut the window. The chill air brushed through his room, but then he became aware of another presence. Opening his eyes, he saw Fuji standing in the center of the room, smiling at him. Without his glasses, the tensai seemed ethereal in the moonlight, and Tezuka wondered if he had dreamed of him.

"Happy birthday, Tezuka," he said, holding out a present. "How was your day?"

Tezuka glared at him as he sat up. "Quite interesting. Did you find it amusing?"

Fuji's expression was perplexed. "Saa?"

"I think dropping banners in the girl's shoeboxes was a bit much," Tezuka let him know.

Fuji moved over to sit on the edge of the bed, his smile firmly in place. "You think that was me?"

"Who else would take the time to write on hundreds of tennis balls?" Tezuka growled.

"My hand got sore..." Fuji examined his hands a bit wistfully. "But it was fun."

"I'm going to make you run fifty laps tomorrow."

Fuji just smiled. "Not ten?"

His eyebrow twitched as he thought of all the pink tennis balls that he had left in the club room. Tezuka was starting to feel like Fuji was pulling all his strings, and didn't like it. "How did you get here?"

"Your window didn't shut completely. It was jammed. No clue how that happened,” Fuji said, pressing his fingers against his chin.

Tezuka realized exactly Fuji had been planning his night visit for a while. He had probably rigged it the last time he had been over to study, which had been three days ago. "Of course not."

Fuji beamed at him, holding out the gift again. "Here."

"Thanks." Tezuka took it gingerly, afraid something would jump out and bite him. The wrapping paper was simple, but Fuji had used an unholy amount of tape on the package. Tezuka, who usually opened presents neatly, was forced to tear into it.

Opening it, he was surprised to see that it contained a bonsai tree.

Blinking a bit, he studied it, not understanding why Fuji had chosen a plant. "Thanks?"

Fuji chuckled softly, moving over to place his hands over Tezuka's, cradling the plant together. The pressure of his fingers was gentle on Tezuka’s skin, and amazingly intimate. "You really don't need anything, so I thought I'd get you something you could enjoy. These take time to nurture and shape, but I think you can do it. I'll help you, if you run into trouble."

Tezuka understood what Fuji was getting at. "Thank you," he said, sincerely this time. In the room's dim light, he realized that something about Fuji seemed to be a bit less caustic. He pulled his hands away to set the plant down on his night table, then turned back to his boyfriend.

Fuji leaned in closer to him, and his open eyes were mysterious. "I have one more gift, Tezuka."

Tezuka's breath caught as Fuji leaned forward and kissed him. Kissing wasn't something they indulged in often, since they rarely found enough privacy. Fuji's lips were demanding and he gave a slow, drugging kiss that made Tezuka's head spin. It demanded response, and Tezuka rose to the challenge, grabbing Fuji's shoulders and pulling him closer. They leisurely explored the other's mouth, and Tezuka felt Fuji's warmth, pressing their bodies together.

After a while, Fuji broke away, looking at Tezuka's alarm clock regretfully. "We have school tomorrow," he said. "We should be considering some sleep."

Tezuka's voice was breathier than usual. "Yes," he agreed. He hadn’t gotten even with Fuji for all his tricks, but he knew that Fuji would always have more tricks than he could counter. Right now he felt calmer, and wished that he had some way to keep the tensai with him. He tightened his hold, causing Fuji to laugh.

Fuji rested his cheek against Tezuka's. "Hitch over."

Tezuka was surprised by Fuji's forwardness. He hadn’t thought... "We have school," he echoed.

"I'll wake up early before anyone misses me. Tonight, I want to stay with you."

Blushing slightly, Tezuka slid over, yielding half of his mattress. Fuji kicked off his shoes before climbing in, sliding beneath the covers. Their arms entwined around each other, and Fuji placed his head against Tezuka's chest. "Good night, Tezuka," he whispered, closing his eyes.

Tezuka pressed a kiss on Fuji's forehead. "Sleep well."

Fuji relaxed against him, and Tezuka decided he liked the feel of their closeness. Fuji's face resembled a sleeping Adonis, perfect and ideal. Tezuka was surprised how beautiful his boyfriend looked without his characteristic smirk, and realized that this was the best part of his birthday. Fuji's trust was the greatest gift he had received all day.


End file.
